


Silence Is A Scary Sound

by orpheous87



Series: Drarryland 2019 [27]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drarryland: A Drarry Game/Fest, Enemies to Friends, Hogwarts Seventh Year, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 19:24:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18697687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/pseuds/orpheous87
Summary: Title: Silence Is A Scary SoundAuthor/Artist: Orpheous87Rating: GWord Count/Parameters: 869 words (on wordcounter.net)Prompt: The Fates have spoken. You have drawn the Tower card, reversed. You will write about disaster avoided, delaying disaster, and the fear of suffering. Because this card is ruled by Mars, the god of war, your story should take place during the War and will channel the element of fire. You may read the full description of the cardherefor more inspiration. The powers that be foresee a word count no higher than 875, and always an odd number.Summary: Draco is finding life hard returning to Hogwarts after the end of 6th year but, one night, things change.





	Silence Is A Scary Sound

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [ValkyrieShadowWitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkyrieShadowWitch/pseuds/ValkyrieShadowWitch) and [ana_iliad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ana_iliad/pseuds/ana_iliad) for betaing and the general advice! ❤️
> 
> I think I've slightly pushed boundaries for this prompt as it's not set during the battle, but as the meaning of the card mentions feeling crisis looming, I decided to set it right at the beginning of Seventh Year (we'll ignore the fact that Harry didn't actually go back to Hogwarts for the beginning of the year) while Draco is still struggling with what happened at the Manor during the summer months.

In the silence of the dormitory, the sound of Draco’s own breathing was deafening. He was laid stiffly in his bed, eyes open and staring into the inky blackness of the room. He couldn’t stop the nauseous feeling that was pooling in his stomach. He’d got used to it by now, it had happened every night since he returned to Hogwarts. 

Outed as a Death Eater, albeit a reluctant one, he’d found himself shunned by almost everyone, including other Slytherins. In fact, only Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle remained on speaking terms with him, though he could tell that things weren’t the same. Pansy still sat with him during meals, but he had a feeling it was only because she felt obliged to. 

It was a strange feeling; one where he wasn’t sure he could still count on his friends to be on his side. He’d always thought that Crabbe and Goyle were a bit slow and stupid; only fit to be his bodyguards, but in recent weeks they’d started showing a bit more initiative. They didn’t look to him for guidance anymore, which he found unsettling. He wasn’t used to having to look out for himself. 

Night time had become one of his greatest fears. It was at night, in the silence, that his thoughts took over. His mind betrayed him, bringing memories of summer evenings at home. Memories that were in no way pleasant. He wanted, more than anything, to forget everything he’d seen, everything he’d been forced to be a part of. He’d lost count of the amount of times he’d thrown up during the summer, lost count of how many bottles of Dreamless Sleep he’d consumed in an effort to drive the memories away, if only for a few hours. 

He could feel the tears making their way down his cheeks but made no move to wipe them away. This was something else that seemed to be happening with alarming frequency. His fear only grew as time passed, causing more silent tears to fall until he could take no more.  
He slid out of his bed and left the dormitory behind. He walked the corridors of the castle that used to feel more like home than home, until he found himself in front of one of the great fireplaces that adorned the Great Hall. The fire was burning brightly, and he found it oddly comforting. Listening to the crackle of the flames helped keep the silence at bay. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there for, but when the sound of footsteps approaching reached his ears, he didn’t move. He sat, frozen in place, gazing into the fire. The footsteps stopped and he heard the person sit down beside him. 

They didn’t speak, but he instinctively knew that it wasn’t Pansy or one of the other Slytherin boys. After sitting in front of the fire with the mystery person for longer than he could hazard a guess, Draco eventually turned his head to look at them. Looking back at him was Harry Potter. Draco should have guessed, but all the same, he found that he wasn’t angry.

Potter still didn’t speak to him, something that Draco found as oddly comforting as the fire. He wondered how the other boy had known where to find him but realised that he wasn’t curious enough to ask. It was enough that the Gryffindor was there with him. 

Draco realised that if anyone had told him last year that he would feel more comfortable in the company of Harry Potter than he did with his own friends, he would have thought them mad. But the longer they sat there, the more that Draco realised his fear was dissipating; Potter, though Draco had always found him chaotic, brought an odd sense of calm with him. He found himself wondering if it was too late to join Potter on the right side of the war. He was sure now that everything he’d believed in until this point was nothing but fake. But Potter… Potter had always been constant, never wavering in his beliefs or his efforts to uphold them. Draco wondered if it was possible for him to do the same. He didn’t know, but he wanted to try. He wanted the safety that Potter could give him. Not only that, he realised. There was something else; something that he hadn’t been able to put his finger on for a while. 

As they sat together in comfortable silence, his long-denied feelings resurfaced. When Draco had been confronted with these feelings for the first time, months ago, he had been extremely angry and confused, almost in denial. Questions of how and why had plagued him until he could no longer take them. Then, when Voldemort had settled in his home, fear and silence had replaced every sense of his being.

But now, the flames that had given him strength to survive the silence before Potter arrived, also ignited the sparks of passion within him. With everything he knew lying in tatters, Draco realised that he had the chance now to make the biggest decision of his life. He vowed to make Potter his so that, together, they could win the inevitable war.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
